Chapter 15: Population, Urbanization, And Environment

the study of human population: typically focuses on birth rates, death rates, and immigration rates

Fertility:

the incidence of childbearing in a country’s population

crude birth rate:

the number of live births in a given year for every 1000 people in a population

mortality:

the incidence of death in a country’s population

crude death rate:

the number of deaths in a given year for every 1000 people in a population

infant mortality rate:

the number of deaths among infants under one year of age for each 1000 live births in a given year

life expectancy:

the average life span of a country’s population

migration:

the movement of people into and out of a specified territory

sex ratio:

the number of males for every 100 females in a nation’s population

age-sex pyramid:

a graphic representation of the age and sex of a population

Malthusian Theory:

population would increase in a geometrical progression. As a result of this, food production would have to increase in proportion. This was one of the first indications that birth control may be necessary to avert a catastrophe in resources

Demographic Transition Theory:

a thesis that links population patterns to a society’s level of technological development

zero population growth:

the level of reproduction that maintains population at a steady level

Urbanization:

the concentration of population into cities

metropolis:

a large city that socially and economically dominates an urban area

suburbs:

urban areas beyond the political boundaries of a city

megalopolis:

a vast urban region containing a number of cities and their surrounding suburbs

edge cities:

a mix of corporate office buildings, shopping malls, and other business centers that are operational primarily during the day time

Gemeinschaft

a type of social organization in which people are closely tied by kinship and tradition

Gesellschaft:

a type of social organization in which people come together only on the basis of individual self-interest

mechanical solidarity:

social bonds based on common sentiments and shared moral values

organic solidarity:

social bonds based on specialization and interdependence

Urban Ecology:

the study of the link between the physical and social dimensions of cities

ecology:

the study of the interaction of living organisms and the natural environment

the natural environment

: Earth’s surface and atmosphere, including living organisms, air, water, soil, and other resources necessary to sustain life

Ecosystem:

a system composed of the interaction of all living organisms and their natural environment

Environmental deficit:

profound long-term harm to the natural environment caused by humanity’s focus on short term material affluence